Pamaquine is an 8-aminoquinoline

8-Aminoquinoline

8-Aminoquinoline is a form of aminoquinoline with an amine at the 8-position of quinoline.The 8-aminoquinoline family of drugs contains three members, primaquine, tafenoquine and pamaquine and are used in the treatment of malaria...

 drug used for the treatment of malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

. It is closely related to primaquine

Primaquine

Primaquine is a medication used in the treatment of malaria and Pneumocystis pneumonia. It is a member of the 8-aminoquinoline group of drugs that includes tafenoquine and pamaquine.-Radical cure:...

.

Adverse effects

Like primaquine, pamaquine causes haemolytic anaemia in patients with G6PD deficiency. Patients should therefore always be screened for G6PD deficiency prior to being prescribed pamaquine.

Uses

Pamaquine is effective against the hypnozoites of the relapsing malarias (P. vivax

Plasmodium vivax

Plasmodium vivax is a protozoal parasite and a human pathogen. The most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring malaria, P. vivax is one of the four species of malarial parasite that commonly infect humans. It is less virulent than Plasmodium falciparum, which is the deadliest of the...

 and P. ovale

Plasmodium ovale

Plasmodium ovale is a species of parasitic protozoa that causes tertian malaria in humans. It is closely related to Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, which are responsible for most malaria. It is rare compared to these two parasites, and substantially less dangerous than P...

); and unlike primaquine, it is also very effective against the erythrocytic stages of all four human malarias. One small clinical trial of pamaquine as a causal prophylactic was disappointing (whereas primaquine is an extremely effective causal prophylactic).

Dosing

60 mg once daily for 14–21 days.

When treating Plasmodium vivax, an initial course of chloroquine

Chloroquine

Chloroquine is a 4-aminoquinoline drug used in the treatment or prevention of malaria.-History:Chloroquine , N'--N,N-diethyl-pentane-1,4-diamine, was discovered in 1934 by Hans Andersag and co-workers at the Bayer laboratories who named it "Resochin". It was ignored for a decade because it was...

is unnecessary.